“It was Ogion’s,” she said. “This was Ogion’s house. This is Aihal’s house.” You knew that, my lords?”

“We did, mistress. The king sent us to this house, believing that the archmage would come here; and, when word of the death of its master came to Roke and I-Iavnor, yet more certain of it.” But it was a dragon that bore the archmage from Roke. And no word or sending has come from him since then to Roke or to the king. And it is much in the king’s heart, and much in the interest of us all, to know the archmage is here, and is well. Did he come here, mistress?”

“I cannot say,” she said, but it was a poor equivocation, repeated, and she could see that the men thought so. She drew herself up, standing behind the table.” “I mean that I will not say. I think if the archmage wishes to come, he will come.” If he wishes not to be found, you will not find him. Surely you will not seek him out against his will.”

The oldest of the men, and the tallest, said, “The king’s will is ours.”

The first speaker said more conciliatingly, “We are only messengers. What is between the king and the archmage of the Isles is between them. We seek only to bring the message, and the reply.”

“If I can, I will see that your message reaches him.”

“And the reply?’ ‘ the oldest man demanded.”

She said nothing, and the first speaker said, “We’ll be here some few days at the house of the Lord of Re Albi, who, hearing of our ship’s arrival, offered us his hospitality. ‘ ‘

She felt a sense of a trap laid or a noose tightening, though she did not know why. Sparrowhawk’s vulnerability, his sense of his own weakness, had infected her.” Distraught, she used the defense of her appearance, her seeming to be a mere goodwife, a middle-aged housekeeper-but was it seeming? It was also truth, and these matters were more subtle even than the guises and shape-changes of wizards.- She ducked her head and said, “That will be more befitting your lordships’ comfort. You see we live very plain here, as the old mage did.””

“And drink Andrades wine,” said the one who had identified the vintage, a bright-eyed, handsome man with a winning smile. She, playing her part, kept her head down. But as they took their leave and filed out, she knew that, seem what she might and be what she might, if they did not know now that she was Tenar of the Ring they would know it soon enough; and so would know that she herself knew the archmage and was indeed their way to him, if they were determined to seek him out.”

When they were gone, she heaved a great sigh.” Heather did so too, and then finally shut her mouth, which had hung open all the time they were there.

“I never,” she said, in a tone of deep, replete satisfaction, and went to see where the goats had got to.”

Therru came out from the dark place behind the door, where she had barricaded herself from the strangers with Ogion’s staff and Tenar’s alder stick and her own hazel switch. She moved in the tight, sidling way she had mostly abandoned since they had been here, not looking up, the

ruined half of her face bent down towards the shoulder.

Tenar went to her and knelt to hold her in her arms. “Therru,’ ‘ she said, “they won’t hurt you. They mean no harm.”

The child would not look at her. She let Tenar hold her like a block of wood.”

“If you say so, I won’t let them in the house again.”

After a while the child moved a little and asked in her hoarse, thick voice, “What will they do to Sparrowhawk?’ ‘

“Nothing,” Tenar said. “No harm! They come-they mean to do him honor.”

But she had begun to see what their attempt to do him honor would do to him-denying his loss, denying him his grief for what he had lost, forcing him to act the part of what he was no longer.

When she let the child go, Therru went to the closet and fetched out Ogion’s broom.” She laboriously swept the floor where the men from Havnor had stood, sweeping away their footprints, sweeping the dust of their feet out the door, off the doorstep.

Watching her, Tenar made up her mind.

She went to the shelf where Ogion’s three great books stood, and rummaged there. She found several goose quills and a half-dried-up bottle of ink, but not a scrap of paper or parchment.” She set her jaw, hating to do damage to anything so sacred as a book, and scored and tore out a thin strip of paper from the blank endsheet of the Book of Runes. She sat at the table and dipped the pen and wrote.” Neither the ink nor the words came easy.” She had scarcely written anything since she had sat at this same table a quarter of a century ago, with Ogion looking over her shoulder, teaching her the runes of Hardic and the Great Runes of Power.” She wrote:

go oak farm in midi valy to clerbrook

say goha sent to look to garden & sheep

It took her nearly as long to read it over as it had to write it. By now Therru had finished her sweeping and was watching her, intent.

She added one word:

to-night

“Where’s Heather?’ ‘ she asked the child, as she folded the paper on itself once and twice. “I want her to take this to Aunty Moss’s house.”

She longed to go herself, to see Sparrowhawk, but dared not be seen going, lest they were watching her to lead them to him.

“I’ll go,” Therru whispered.” Tenar looked at her sharply.

“You’ll have to go alone, Therru. Past the village.”

The child nodded.”

“Give it only to him!”

She nodded again.

Tenar tucked the paper into the child’s pocket, held her, kissed her, let her go.” Therru went, not crouching and sidling now but running freely, flying, Tenar thought, seeing her vanish in the evening light beyond the dark door-frame, flying like a bird, a dragon, a child, free.”

Therru was back soon with Sparrowhawk’s reply: “He said he’ll leave tonight.”

Tenar heard this with satisfaction, relieved that he had accepted her plan, that he would get clear away from these messengers and messages he dreaded. It was not till she had fed Heather and Therm their frog-leg feast, and put Therru to bed and sung to her, and was sitting up alone without lamp or firelight, that her heart began to sink. He was gone. He was not strong, he was bewildered and uncertain, he needed friends; and she had sent him away from those who were and those who wished to be his friends. He was gone, and she must stay, to keep the hounds from his trail, to learn at least whether they stayed in Gont or sailed back to Havnor.”

His panic and her obedience to it began to seem so unreasonable to her that she thought it equally unreasonable, improbable, that he would in fact go.” He would use his wits and simply hide in Moss’s house, which was the last place in all Earthsea that a king would look for an archmage.” It would be much better if he stayed there till the king’s men left.” Then he could come back here to Ogion’s house, where he belonged, And it would go on as before, she looking after him until he had his strength back, and he giving her his dear companionship.

A shadow against the stars in the doorway: “Hsssst! Awake?” Aunty Moss came in. “Well, he’s off,” she said, conspiratorial, jubilant. “Went the old forest road. Says he’ll cut down to the Middle Valley way, along past Oak Springs, tomorrow.”

“Good,” said Tenar.

Bolder than usual, Moss sat down uninvited. “I gave him a loaf and a bit of cheese for the way.”

“Thank you, Moss. That was kind.”

“Mistress Goha.” Moss’s voice in the darkness took on the singsong resonance of her chanting and spellcasting. “There’s a thing I was wanting to say to you, dearie, without going beyond what I can know, for I know you’ve lived among great folks and been one of ‘em yourself, and that seals my mouth when I think of it. And yet there’s things I know that you’ve had no way of knowing, for all the learning of the runes, and the Old Speech, and all you’ve learned from the wise, and in the foreign lands.”